Insect collecting - starting out, most think of butterfly collecting, but there is so much more to it to enjoy !Insect collecting, or more officially & scientifically speaking... 'Entomology', encompasses all insects, of which there are some 900 thousand different species already identified, with about 10% of them (90,000+) living here in the United States and more than 700 of them are butterflies. Butterflies of course are everyone's favorite, well almost everyone's! They are part of a 'Class' of insects called Lepidoptera, derived from the Greek words 'lepido' meaning scale and 'ptera' meaning wings, put together, Lepidoptera is used to describe 'scaly winged' insects, as the wings of many of the adult insects in this class, have wings covered in scales. Have you ever touched a butterfly's wing and gotten what might be described as powder on your fingers? Actually if you would view that powder under a microscope, you would see that it's not powder at all but that you have thousands of tiny scales on your finger. Pronounced Lep-i-dop-tera, which some have told us reminds them of a dinosaur name, and in fact, these scaly winged Lepidoptera actually do date all the way back to the Triassic period, about 230 million years ago.
Our goal isn't to provide you with a detailed study of these insects,
but rather to, so to speak...wet your whistle... and get you introduced to the fascinating hobby of insect collecting so you don't miss out on some of the magic in this world. We will be adding more as we go...but for now, we would like to share some pictures that we have taken with you. We may have adjusted the lighting to compensate for our lack of photography skills, but we haven't enhanced them.These are real, and other than in Antarctica, butterflies and moths, the two largest Families (groupings) in the Lepidoptera Class of insects exist everywhere! Enjoy, and please give us feedback by clicking on contact us 
The 'Question Mark' is part of a group of butterflies called Angelwings which belong to the 'Brush-Footed' butterfly family.This is the largest butterfly family and it includes about a 3rd of all of the butterflies in the world. They are called 'Brush-Footed' because they have smaller front legs that often have little bristles on them, making them look like 'brushes'. We will try and capture a closeup of their front feet in a future photo. 
This moth was only about 1" long, but what an incredible specimen. If anyone knows the name please let us know so we can share it with other viewers.
Not only is this Clearwing moth a good example of why it can be so difficult in distinguishing a moth from a butterfly, but I'm sure that it has also been mistaken for a humming bird by at least a few observers.Unlike most moths this one is out during the day and it's antenna are more rounded like a butterfly's antenna. ...what a treat to see one up close. Here it is pictured feeding on Gooseneck Loosestrife blossoms.
Hopefully as you use our site to learn about your natural surrounding, you will begin to recognize that insect collecting isn't just about catching, labeling and pinning insects into a display.
But rather that it is all about learning, looking, wondering and sharing what you find with others... Happy Exploring! |
Beautiful, Strange, Facinating
... Insects
